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Crude oil spill off Newfoundland coast deemed impossible to clean up

The SeaRose FPSO — a floating production, storage and offloading vessel in the White Rose oil and gas field near Newfoundland’s coast — spilled an estimated 66,000 gallons (250,000 liters) of crude earlier this month, making it the largest oil spill in the province’s maritime history. To make matters worse, according to Canadian provincial regulators, the huge spill cannot be cleaned up.

The operator responsible for the incident is Husky Energy, and the spill happened when the vessel “experienced a loss of pressure” in an oil flowline. Husky Energy had halted production the day before due to bad weather, and the spill occurred when the company was preparing to restart production.

Three days after the spill, the regulators reportedly did not see any signs of an oil sheen on the water. According to Scott Tessier, chief executive of The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), the absence of a sheen means the oil has broken down so much that it has become impossible to clean up.

EcoWatch reported that Husky Energy has shut-in and secured all of its wells, and the company has also halted production and drilling operations. C-NLOPB, which is the federal agency that regulates petroleum production, has launched a formal investigation into the spill, and will release its findings once they are available.

The board noted that this recent spill shows that we cannot underestimate the risks in offshore oil activity. It also said that it had deployed four surveillance flights and an offshore support vessel to assess the extent of the spill and look for effects on wildlife. At the time of writing, 14 seabirds have been impacted by the spill.

Slideshow

Crude oil spill off Newfoundland coast deemed impossible to clean up

Oil Spill

1 of 2

The SeaRose FPSO — a floating production, storage and offloading vessel in the White Rose oil and gas field near Newfoundland's coast — spilled an estimated 66,000 gallons (250,000 liters) of crude earlier this month, making it the largest oil spill in the province's maritime history. To make matters worse, according to Canadian provincial regulators, the huge spill cannot be cleaned up.

Oil Spill

2 of 2

The SeaRose FPSO — a floating production, storage and offloading vessel in the White Rose oil and gas field near Newfoundland's coast — spilled an estimated 66,000 gallons (250,000 liters) of crude earlier this month, making it the largest oil spill in the province's maritime history. To make matters worse, according to Canadian provincial regulators, the huge spill cannot be cleaned up.